


One Moment in Time

by suyari



Series: The Long Road Home [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Family, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Kaiju, Mpreg, Multi, Polyamory, Sequel, Sibling Incest, Threesome, loss of a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 04:45:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5695294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suyari/pseuds/suyari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chuck is nine and playing outside with the neighbor’s kids when Angela says, “I’d like to try for another one.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Moment in Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kuro49](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro49/gifts).



> Because [kuro49](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro49/pseuds/kuro49) asked for the story of Angela/Herc/Scott.
> 
> Tumblr prompt fill.

Chuck is nine and playing outside with the neighbor’s kids when Angela says, “I’d like to try for another one.” Herc looks up from his paperwork, then across to Scott who blinks in surprise. It isn’t as if they haven’t discussed it. Angela has always wanted a bit of a brood, and Scott is perfectly content to carry more as long as they’re Herc’s. Herc has the most reservations about it. They’re not exactly “out” and he’s concerned about Chuck’s reaction. Still, he isn’t exactly _against_ the idea - far from it when he lets himself really think on it - and if Angela and Scott want to try for another, well...he’s not about to argue. 

“Scotty?” he asks, rubbing the toes of his foot against his brother’s ankle under the table. 

Scott looks to him and for a moment, Herc can’t tell what he’s thinking. Then he smiles and reaches out to take Herc’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’m fine, ‘Le,” he replies, inhaling softly. “I just…” His eyes sweep down and Herc leans forward to try and coax them back up. “I didn’t think it’d really happen.” 

Angela crosses over to them, crouching down beside him. Her hands curl over his thigh and she peers up into his eyes fearlessly. “It’s _your_ body, Scott,” she reminds him gently. “If you’ve changed your mind-”

“No!” he says, grip tightening about Herc’s. Herc reaches over with his free hand, thumb stroking Scott’s wrist. “I want to! I...I _really_ want to.” 

Scott and Angela exchange the kind of smile they’ve shared for the last two years. The one that says they’re on the exact same page and Herc is probably in for a word of trouble - not that he minds one bit. She leans up and he tilts his head and Herc is fairly certain he’ll never get over just how much it turns him on when they kiss. 

They’re looking at him a moment later, two sets of apprehensive, slightly pleading eyes, and who the fuck is he to deny them another baby if they really want one? It isn’t as if they can’t afford a few more with three paychecks and they really do have so much love to give. Given how spoiled Chuck is, it might even do him some good to have a sibling or four. He catches his own train of thought and laughs quietly. Oh, Angie and Scotty are the baby hungry ones for _sure_. He’s not at all immediately assaulted by the memory of Scott heavy with his child, and how none of them had been able to truly enjoy it the first time around. 

“Le?” Scott calls quietly. 

Herc looks up and can see the physical change in them as they take in his own face. He supposes his eyes are as hungry as his cock, because a moment later they’re both laughing. Angela presses her face to Scott’s neck and Herc wonders how the fuck he’s gotten so damn lucky. He smiles, a bit of a chuckle unfurling in his chest. He has no idea how they’re gonna explain it to Chuck, but he figures they have time. They won’t really have to address it until Scott starts to show and who knows how long it’ll be before then? 

“When do we start?” he asks, voice gruff with want. 

“Tonight?” Scott replies, looking to Angela. He’s still unsure around her at times. Two and a half years of increasing shared intimacy can’t erase the guilt of six years, never mind that Angela’s assured them both there’s nothing to be guilty about so many times it queues up in his own head in response every time. 

She smiles brightly, hands squeezing over his thigh. “Tonight,” she agrees. 

Herc isn’t sure he can wait, but he smiles and nods when they look at him. 

~*~

There’s something all too beautiful about the way they make love. Maybe it’s all those wasted years. The lying, the secrets, the half truths...or maybe it’s just being with two people who love him so damn much and who he loves more than life itself. Once he’d really allowed himself to love Scott, it had taken root deep in his chest and hadn’t let go. Growing and growing like their child; sprouting toward the sky so quickly it left his head spinning. He’s still sometimes amazed by how his life has turned out - so grateful he can barely stand it some days. 

He’s lost count of their changes in position. Too involved with making them both feel good. Angela and Scott moan in a sort of harmony that the greatest of composers could never grasp in a thousand years. Herc takes great pride in being the main source of all that exquisite music. 

Angela’s head rocks to the side, her hands smoothing over Scott’s hips. “Scott,” she gasps. “He’s close. He’s so close!” 

Herc growls slightly when they both abandon him. Scott’s hips drawing away so his cock slips free of Herc’s mouth. Angela’s legs untangling from about his waist so she can crawl back. He slips free of her as well and shifts onto his knees, a sound of protest building in his chest. Scott pushes him over with both hands and straddles him. Herc moans as he’s drawn into the tight heat of his brother’s body. His hands clamp about Scott’s hips so he can’t pull himself free and they both laugh softly before Scott’s panting against Angela’s mouth. 

Scott draws her closer, and she swings a leg over Herc’s torso. Between them they shuffle her back until she’s perfectly positioned. He lifts his head, rests it against a wayward calf so he can really delve into her. Her hands curl against his abdomen. Scott rocks forward so he can kiss along her throat. One of his hands clasps over a breast and the other reaches back so his fingers can join Herc’s tongue inside her. Herc can tell the moment her hand wraps around Scott. His body flexes all about Herc and it’s all he can do not to come right then and there. Instead, he focuses on their pleasure. Hands dragging Scott’s hips down so he can pump ruthlessly up into him. Mouth clamping down about Angela’s clit and getting down to serious business. 

Angela comes first. Her hand tightening about Scott, who follows her over, his release slicking up Herc’s chest and one of Angie’s hips. They slump into each other, the two of them rocking with the motion as Herc allows himself to let go, releasing deeply into his baby brother. By the time they’ve all caught their breath, the bed is a mess and they’re too exhausted to move. 

They curl up about one another, limbs tangling. 

“What do you think?” Angela asks, fingertips sweeping over Scott’s brow. 

He blinks at her, lashes fluttering slightly because between the sex and the petting, he’s going down fast. He hums softly, his own fingers sweeping over Herc’s abdomen, leaving an unintentional trail of heat. 

“A few more tries can’t possibly hurt,” Herc points out. 

They both laugh quietly. 

“Glutton,” Scott mumbles, already on his way out. 

Herc kisses his brow, catching Angela’s fingertips, which shift to stroke over his jaw and down his throat. “Never gonna have my fill of ya,” Herc assures them. 

Angela smiles and draws him into a sweet kiss as Scott falls asleep against his shoulder. 

~*~

The Kaiju ruins everything. 

They watch, horrified as the alien beast tears through California. They try their best to keep Chuck from knowing, but it’s not at all easy when it’s everywhere and all anyone’ll talk about. No one comes for Chuck’s party and they’re forced to sit him down and explain the whole mess. 

Chuck watches the fallout with them at ten. 

~*~

They’ve stopped trying. Still reeling from the attacks. The military’s scrambling and it’s been a lot of hard days for all of them. They’re sure to all kiss Chuck goodnight, even if Herc and Scott sometimes don’t get the chance until well after he’s asleep, or a few days in between because they’re on base running drills.

They still make time for one another whenever they have the chance, because the world is different now. Darker, scarier, and with less guarantees than before. Their time together feels so limited, but they make the best of it. It’s far more intimate than ever it was, and something about that is soothing in ways Herc can’t ever hope to explain. 

They’re so busy, they don’t even really notice at first. 

Angela is the one who sits them down in the end, one night when they’ve come home and are far too tired to even eat, let alone make love. It feels like taking a loss, but some days they just can’t find the energy, no matter how desperately they may want to. Scotty’s slumping against his side, eyes drooping so it takes him a moment to register the stick she holds under his face. His head bobs up. “Are you _pregnant_?!” he asks, surprise waking him enough to properly engage. 

Herc feels something unnamed suddenly unravel in his chest. 

“No sweetheart,” she says gently. “I think you are.” She waves the stick at him this time. “We should be sure though.” 

Scott gets up on unsteady legs and follows her into the bathroom. 

Herc sits on the bed, not at all sure what outcome he’s hoping for. 

He doesn’t have to ask when they come out. Scotty crawls into his embrace, making himself small and Angela wraps herself around him, pressing her face into the back of his neck. Herc wraps his arms around them tightly and holds them close. He doesn’t know what to say, so he doesn’t say anything. Just presses as close as he can manage, breathes them in and tries not to let the state of the world ruin what should be a happy moment for all of them. 

~*~

Scotty’s not at all happy with being grounded. But Herc isn’t willing to take the chance. He goes to Scott’s C.O. first thing and declares Scott unfit for duty. Scott doesn’t talk to him for a week, though he no one sleeps anywhere else. They still tangle up all together in bed and though he says nothing, he at least lets Herc run his hands over him and the baby. Angela sleeps on Scott’s other side now, arms about him protectively. Herc isn’t sure what Angela thinks and he’s too afraid to ask. She takes time off to be with Scott and Chuck. They can afford it, she reminds him softly. And the morning sickness is starting to take hold. Neither of them are comfortable with leaving Scott alone to deal with it again. Herc thinks with everything that’s going on Angela should just quit her job. She reminds him Scott’s on forced leave and they’re going to need the money. The economy’s shifting so quickly and they have a baby on the way so he doesn’t argue with her. 

They discuss telling Chuck on his birthday, but decide against it the day of, because they want him to have one last celebration as the center of their collective world. As it happens, they don’t get the chance to tell him at all. 

Scott’s on base for his sonogram, so when the alarms go off, Herc’s not at all surprised to see him suddenly suited up. 

“Scott, **no**!” he tells him, as his brother clambers up into his cockpit. He climbs up behind him and kills his sequencing. Scott glares at him. “The baby,” he reminds him. 

“Herc, I’m not letting you go out there alone!” he snaps back. “You need me on your wing!” _So you’ll come back_ , he doesn’t say. It doesn’t need to be said really. 

He shakes his head and smooths his thumb across Scott’s cheek. “Sweetheart,” he replies gently. “You’re sixteen weeks. You know what’ll happen if you go up there.”

Tears pool in Scott’s eyes, but he stubbornly tries to initiate start up again. 

“Scotty,” Herc says. “ _Please_.”

The base is in chaos around them. Herc seriously doubts anyone will notice or care - hell they’ll probably be _happy_ \- if there’s another fighter in the air, even if it’s been grounded. The universe gives him one though, because after a few unsteady breaths Scott nods. Herc helps him down and kisses him soundly, because, well… 

Scott’s the last thing he sees as he climbs into his own bird. He presses a kiss to his fingertips and lays it to the glass before forcing himself to get down to business. 

He can’t actively recall those three days of combat. All he’s aware of is the fact that all of a sudden there is no time. He’s commandeering a ‘copter and disobeying orders. He calls Scott halfway out because he doesn’t know what else to do. 

“Scotty!” he shouts over the whir of the blades when his brother picks up the phone. “Get out of the house! Get in the car and drive as fast as you can! Don’t stop! Get out of the city, Scott! Get out of the city now!!” 

“Herc-”

“No time! Just drive, Scott! Get as far away as you can! They’re going to nuke the fucking city!” 

“What?! Herc-”

He can hear the fear in Scott’s voice. Angela’s at work. Their son’s at school. Half their family is unaccounted for and there’s no fucking time!! “We’ll meet you up!” he promises. “I’m in the air!” He can hear the car door slam and the engine rev to life. Scott’s taken the fastest car in their garage, even if it is a classic. Relief wells. The car will keep them safe. “I’m going to get them, Scott! Just get yourself and the baby the hell out of there! We’ll meet you up, I _**promise**_!” 

“Be careful, Herc!”

“I will,” he promises. “Scott, seatbelt.” 

His brother grumbles something and nearly drops the phone. 

“Scotty?” 

“Seatbelt,” Scott assures him. 

“I love you, Scott.” 

“I love you, Herc.” 

“We’ll be there soon. Just keep driving and don’t look back!” 

~*~

They show up for Ranger training worse for the wear. Angela’s dead. Chuck’s not talking to them. The backblast of the explosion took their baby. Herc is doing his best to keep them together, but there’s not a lot he can do. Scott’s still in pain, though he’s out of danger. Herc’s pretty sure he left his heart in the grave with their son and his mother. Chuck doesn’t know he’s lost more than Angela and neither of them feel it’d be right to tell him now. He doesn’t protest when Scott wraps his arms around him and holds him tight. Just curls up against him and lets himself be held. They cry together; neither of them cry around Herc. 

Herc doesn’t know what else to do, except fight back. And Scott’s so compromised, he isn’t sure bringing him along at first is a good idea. But they’re his family and where he goes, so do they. This is the safest thing for them now. The PPDC’s promised a lot and they’ll be taken care of no matter what happens to him. 

He isn’t expecting Scott to join up, but he doesn’t try to dissuade him. In all honesty, he’s glad. He doesn’t want to do this without him. And he thinks Scott will come back if he’s just given the chance. 

They’re going to be alright. They have to be. 

~*~

The PPDC is everything and nothing Herc expected. 

Not only does it bring Scott back, it gives them the drift. There are no words for what transpires between them when they step into a conn-pod. They’re one in a way they never could have been, and it’s a bit of heaven on earth even if not all of it is pleasant. 

It heals Chuck too in its own way. He throws himself into every aspect of it until he’s absorbed more than he or Scott will ever hope to. Chuck is talking to him again, even if it’s stilted and businesslike. He’s thriving in a way Herc could never have hoped to achieve on his own. 

Things go well until they don’t. 

Scott gets injured, but it isn’t what breaks him. Losing the chance to try again, even if they’ve decided not to...that’s what breaks him. Herc can’t bear it. For the second time, he reports his brother. Scott doesn’t put up a fight this time. He’s too lost in his own grief. 

Herc worries he may never come back. That he’s lost him this time for sure. After all their time together, sharing a soul, minds open completely to one another, it’s a blow. He can’t help Scott. He tries and he tries but he can’t do a thing about it. 

Chuck takes over. 

Their first drift is a disaster.

It’s also a gift in disguise. Chuck finds out the truth - all of it in one fell swoop. He needs Scott more than ever, and Scott comes out of it to be there for him. They pull each other up until they’re whole again - or as whole as anyone in their family gets. Chuck insists they don’t hide it from him anymore. 

It helps. 

Healing is a funny thing.

~*~

Herc rolls over and presses his hand to the heavy curve of Scott’s side. Scott groans and shifts restlessly in his sleep. Herc strokes him gently, trying to soothe the source of his discomfort. It’s been so long. 

Scott wakes and peers at him from the corner of his eyes. “Conspirator,” he accuses. 

Herc smiles. “As if I could ever keep my hands off you,” he replies, shuffling close until Scott’s back stretches all along his front comfortably. Scott grumbles something softly, but there’s a tilt to his lips and Herc kisses his shoulder with a happy sigh. “You were dreaming.” 

Scott snorts. “I was drifting.” 

“Good or bad?” Herc asks, smoothing his hand over Scott’s swell. 

“Little of both,” he sighs, arching back slightly. 

Herc nuzzles him just below his ear. They don’t really need to discuss it. The echo was what had woke him after all. And it’s about time they laid all their ghosts to rest. “Baby’s almost here,” he says conversationally. 

Scott laughs softly and lays his hands over Herc’s. He goes quiet for a moment and then says, “Angela always wanted to name our daughter Olivia.” 

They hadn’t known what they were having at first and it had lead to lists and arguments that ended in laughter or light pranks of revenge. Their baby had been a ray of light in a world slowly falling to madness. Losing him had taken a toll on them, but in the end as much as Herc doesn’t like to think it, it had helped them too. They may have come the long way ‘round but here they are none the less. 

“Our little Livvy,” he says, shifting to kiss Scott’s swell. 

Scott sighs, tension he probably wasn’t even aware of, easing free of him. “She’s going to be so spoiled,” he laughs. 

“I can’t wait for her to be old enough to try bossing around Chuck’s brood,” Herc replies. 

Scott laughs hard enough he has to brace himself, knees squeezing together. “Chuck’s going to be the _worst_ one!” he notes. 

“Yeah, well,” Herc says. “It’s about time.”


End file.
